Into the Fire (Flame in the Shadows Trilogy #1)

8. Tommy

CHAPTER EIGHT

TOMMY

I glide through the dark, dripping forest, silent as the reaper himself. By this point I’ve been soaked through for hours on end, but I don’t mind. The discomfort helps ward off the heavy exhaustion that’s starting to muddle my senses, not to mention the distraction of my uncooperative emotions.

Against the odds, I managed to warn Mel and get away before her tail woke up. All I have to do now is sneak back into the caves and I’m in the clear.

I thought I’d be thrilled if I managed to get this far. Instead, I’m sad. Unnerved by the feeling that surged through me just before I left Mel’s place.

Ever since I laid eyes on her, Mel’s pull has hovered at the edges of my awareness. Even now, when I should be concentrating on what I’m doing, her face floats in my mind. Tears glitter like crystals in her thick lashes. And that mouth…

With a sigh, I shove the image away. Yes, she’s gorgeous, but her beauty isn’t what calls to me so deeply . It’s the raw hurt that lies like a wound just under her surface, invisible to most, but not to me. No one has ever understood my grief. Cait tries, but even she can’t relate. Her parents are alive.

Mel understands.

I wish I could be allowed to know her.

A sharp crack cleaves the night, and I freeze.

Fuck. Did I really step on a twig?

Stupid, dangerous, rookie mistake. It’s too dark to see, but I could find my way with no problem if I were paying attention. I’m adept at using other senses to navigate, particularly my hearing. It’s a vital skill for those of us who run missions to have, and I’ve honed it well.

There’s no excuse, none at all, for me to exhibit such poor stealth. Stepping on a twig. Seriously?

My face heats when I imagine the ribbing Vik and Hunter would throw at me, the way Sam would smirk and Cait would rake me over the coals if they knew about my carelessness. Good thing I’m alone.

Using my hands, I scale the steep earth toward the main entrance to the caves, concealed within a heap of boulders like our exit at the summit. Each second pulses through me as I get close. If I don’t make it back before Bill and Jess take over guard duty at midnight, I’m screwed.

No one else will care I’ve been out, but Cait’s parents will worry. They’ll wonder why I’m roaming the forest alone in the middle of the night, especially in this weather. They’ll tell Cait, who will know exactly what I was doing. And then Cait will tell Lisa.

I don’t have a better way in, though. I could climb the treacherous cliffs that lead to the summit—natural guards that protect our hidden back door. If I made it to the top, I’d be able to slip through undetected, but it’s not an ascent I’d want to attempt even in the best conditions. In this weather, I’d fall to my death. And the garage isn’t an option either. It’s inaccessible from the outside without a remote.

When I reach the right spot, I drop to my knees in the mud. My heart pounds as I pull myself down a short stone tunnel and into a small, irregular cavern, so cramped I can’t stand. No matter how many times I’ve done this, the tiny antechamber never fails to spike my anxiety. There’s no room in here. No air.

Eager to escape, I knock on the farthest wall, which isn’t rough like the others but cool, slick, and smooth as glass. Three taps, pause, two, pause, and two more. In response, the polished granite glides down, disappearing into the floor with hardly a sound. The domed ceiling of one of the gritty cave tunnels is revealed, flickering with golden light, nothing else visible thanks to the seven-foot drop into the caves. After hours in the black woods, the soft glow dazzles my eyes.

As I swing my legs over the edge, I pray Bill and Jess aren’t waiting down there.

The fall is considerable, but it’s easy to land lightly on the balls of my feet. My heart sinks.

“Tommy!” Jess’s eyebrows pull together over concerned silver eyes. Cait’s eyes. “What are you doing out so late?”

Despite my predicament, a drop of warmth slips into my chest, chasing away the chill of the storm. The way the Accettas are looking at me reminds me of my parents.

They care. I just have to lean into my demons and they won’t think twice about this.

“Hi, Jess, Bill.” My fingers brush the twine on my wrist. “Rough night. Couldn’t sleep, needed to clear my head. Getting out of the caves helps.” I shrug.

Jess rests a warm palm on my shoulder. “In this weather? Tommy, are you all right? Cait says you’ve been having a hard time. The nightmares are getting worse.”

I run a hand over my face. The way Cait and her mom gossip, it’s like they’re a couple of mall-obsessed middle schoolers. Is nothing private anymore?

“I’m fine.” Cait may have unwittingly helped confirm my cover story, but it’s hard to keep the bite out of my tone. “Don’t worry. I’m going to clean up. See you later, okay?”

“All right, hon.” Jess glances toward her husband.

“Let us know if you need anything,” Bill calls as I walk away. I wave in acknowledgment, water dripping from my hair, my clothes, leaving a dark trail on the stone floor behind me.

Once I’m out of the Accettas’ sight, my mind goes straight back to Mel. If Bill and Jess are on duty, it must be after midnight, which means her tail has been awake for a while. By now, she either got away or she didn’t.

By the time I arrive at my room, my stomach’s more knotted than one of Vik’s homemade friendship bracelets. I pull the door open and, for the second time in an hour, freeze.

Shit.

Cait. Sitting in the center of my bed.

“Cait,” I say warily, closing the door behind me.

She slides off the bed and stalks toward me, expression murderous. “I can’t believe you. I just can’t believe you. You put all our lives at risk. Again.”

I cross my arms and press my lips together. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cait stops mid-stride, her vicious gaze narrow. Fury rolls off her in toxic waves. “You want to talk about liars, Williams? At least my lie was for the greater good. You lied to me. Then you ran off and risked all our lives.”

Nothing I say or do will convince her she’s wrong. She knows me too well.

I reach toward her. “I’m sorry. I know I’m a hypocrite, but I did it, Cait. I saved Mel. And I was careful. I surveyed the woods around me the whole way home. I wasn’t followed.”

My stomach twists as I remember that twig snapping beneath my boot. I made one mistake. What if…

Cait crosses the distance between us, coming close enough for me to feel the heat washing off her skin. For a moment, I think she’s going to hit me.

Taking a step back, I put my hands up by my shoulders, palms forward. “I know how to be careful. You know that. Shhh. Calm down.”

“Don’t you tell me to calm down!”

She throws her hands in the air, then turns and stomps away. “You need to tell Lisa what you did. Right now. Even if you weren’t followed, you talked to that girl. What did you tell her? Who does she think you are?”

No one on the outside knows about our existence, save for a couple choice contacts of Lisa’s: powerful politicians who help fund our efforts, procure supplies, provide false permits, and the like. I don’t think Mel would spill the beans, but I don’t really know her. If the Organization questions her… It’s a risk I gambled on to keep her safe, for Reyna and Max’s sake. God knows I owe them that much.

I squirm, hand going to my bracelet.

Cait tilts her head, studying my reaction. Horror dawns in her gray eyes. “Don’t tell me you told her about the Resistance?”

I frown, and she pounces. “Tommy, how could you?”

Burning with the fury of a thousand suns, she strides up to me again and pokes me in the solar plexus. “You tell Lisa what you did, right now, or I will.”

I purse my lips, gazing down into Cait’s livid face. She’s right. But, even knowing I should, I don’t want to listen to her now.

Lisa won’t feel safe leaving Mel out there with the knowledge I’ve given her. I know Lisa would never take an innocent life, but she would certainly imprison one.

I’d give almost anything for my freedom. I can’t let Mel’s be stolen from her, especially because of a choice I made.

Cait can tell what I’m thinking.

“Fine.” Mouth hard, she marches around me.

“Wait!” I lunge for her.

She jerks out of my way but pauses.

“Let’s think this through. Please.”

A scowl crosses her face. I take her cold hand. “Listen. Mel doesn’t know enough to be a threat. Even if she were caught and interrogated.”

I swallow. The thought of Mel suffering in the hands of the Organization is intolerable.

To my surprise, Cait’s fierce eyes soften. “You don’t know that. Unless you told her nothing, she holds clues for them. You’re not qualified to decide what happens next. Lisa needs to hear about this.”

When she puts it like that…

My first duty is to the Resistance. I’ve done what I can for Mel. With any luck, she’s already gone, somewhere neither Lisa nor the Organization will find her.

With a heavy sigh, I nod. Cait gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and leads me from the room.

Half an hour later, I fall into bed. It’s been almost thirty-six hours since I last slept, and I can’t muster the energy to wash up, to do more than peel off my muddy clothes and pray for a dreamless sleep.

As I drift in the space between awareness and oblivion, Lisa’s words run through my mind again. They sting twice as much as they did the first time I heard them, minutes ago.

“You’re disobeying orders, sneaking around. If I can’t trust you, how can I send you on missions? How can I let you leave the caves?”

“You’ve created a serious threat to our security. Do you not know what you’ve done?”

“They’ll be aware now something’s not right around her; they’ll be more suspicious than before. You’ve put her in greater danger than ever.”

I pleaded for Mel’s freedom. I begged Lisa to let her run, not to steal her life away. To my astonishment, Lisa agreed.

“I’ll do it for Reyna,” she said. “Not for you. Reyna didn’t want her daughter within a hundred miles of the Resistance. I owe her this much.”

Then she sent Cait to check on Mel, to make sure she left town. If she wasn’t gone, Cait needed to report back at once.

But why? What will Lisa do if Mel’s still there? I groan, tossing and turning. When sleep finally takes me, I’m not lucky enough to rest in peace.

Instead, I stand alone on a rocky precipice, overlooking a violent black sea. The dark waves heave and froth, whipped about by a ferocious storm. Over and over, Mel calls my name from somewhere in the water, desperate. I search for her with increasing urgency but can’t find her among the waves. I reach out anyway, hoping to pull her from the wild surf. By the time I realize I’ve pushed her under, it’s too late. There’s only silence.